I was reading this guide, and after every second post I was like: “How did they come up with that?” or “Does that really work?”. Everything from “5.15 Show a dancing cat” to “6.2 Establish partnerships”.
And even if you don’t have a start-up, it is just fun to read!

Cool reads. As well a lot of creativity is coded in. Just a minute ago read an article about how to get an email just from the social networks. As well this is more oriented towards the growth hacking and marketing in general.

“Freemium” model is awesome [and “free” model as well]. When I stumbled upon it the first time, it was even hard to comprehend that there are so many services, which basically can survive by giving free services, and then…

… and then I was astonished by this. The collection is so massive, that I didn’t even feel like going into it. For short representation: Just the titles of the spreadsheets include: SEO Analysis; Domain; Links; Keyword; Competitive analysis; Tracking; Social; Spam/Hacking; Structured Markup and 5 more.

Some additional sources that are worth checking:
As already mentioned in my previous post: Mattermark is the go-to place for start-up news. As well as Evergreen which gives a nice insight into more elaborate problems. Read as well Crunchbase to learn more about the evaluations and seeding rounds of the start-ups.

2 responses to “How to start a [tech] start-up?”

Thanks Gustav for sharing various sources on how to start a [tech] startup. I personally love reading about this topic as I aspire to start my own business someday. Although, we are currently studying Business Information Management most of us Bimmers come from a business/management background rather than a technological background. However, with information technology becoming the most important part of people’s and firms’ lives, starting a business in this area might not be bad idea. Therefore, I would like to add a some tips on how to build a tech startup, for example, an app or a web start up, while lacking in any coding experience.

1. Find a middle ground between outsourcing and building the product in-house.
For the first version of the product, try outsourcing it. Once you have product/market fit and validation for your idea, hire developers in house. However, hire developers on contract form your outsourced partner whom you manage directly. This way, you don’t have to worry about the details of the developers’ employment and benefits. And if your product is unsuccessful you will not have to fire anyone.

2. Google search is a bad way to find a tech partner.
To find companies to outsource the production of a product or find developers, most entrepreneurs use Google search off course. But that is not a good idea because the companies that come up in the first few pages of Google searches are not necessarily great tech companies. The might be just good at SEO. Try to find the right companies through references or through leadership articles.

3. Learn a bit of coding yourself.
Although this is not really a must, knowing a bit of coding will help you understand the concepts yourself when discussing the product with your developers in initial stages.

4. Eventually you have to hire in-house.
When you have achieved the product /market fit for your product, and your startup is technology-first startup, it will be better to build a team in-house to continue with the product.

5. Bootstrapping is easier than you think.
Although, many people believe that raising initial funds is of great importance, bootstrapping might is easier than people think. A good way to start is by building your product as a side business, while still working at your old job. Keeping the business small and focusing on the customers. Once you have validation of your idea, you can gradually invest in your product by, for example, setting aside a portion of your earnings each month.

6. Social media doesn’t work for customer acquisition.
Good marketing starts with identifying your customer segment, then identifying channels where your potential customers hang out. However, while they might be on social media they don’t visit those networks to engage with brands or products. Think of social media more as a place to get feedback, to learn, to listen, to understand what the market wants and needs. For customer acquisition, think about social media advertising.

I hope these tips would be useful for somebody who wants to start a tech startup but is reluctant due to lack of a technological background.

Wow. This is really cool.
I love when you really have more practical insight (e.g. In-house vs outsourcing) than just “let’s make a scalable app”.
It would be interesting to see how many people in BIM actually do have intentions of starting a company.

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